For three decades beginning in the 1960s, Abdullah Saudi was one of the most prominent figures in the field of finance worldwide. He founded the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank and the Arab Banking Corporation (Bahrain), and in 1980 was chosen as one of the most innovative bankers by government representatives and international commercial banks attending IMF and World Bank meetings. Over the years he has received numerous industry awards, including the Best Banker Award from the Association of Arab Banks in New York in 1991 and the Arab Banker of the Year 1993 from the Union of Arab Banks.
He first came to Spain in 1974 to establish Banco Árabe Español (now Aresbank) and to serve as president of Banco Atlántico, and in 1977 he was awarded the Medalla al Mérito Civil by the then Spanish monarch, King Juan Carlos.
His first contact with golf came in the mid-1960s, when he was elected president of the Tripoli Golf Club, although, curiously, he had never played golf. Apart from the golf course, the beachside club, was also a social club, and the Lebanese banker was more active in this other, non-golfing facet. In fact, he was elected president because the “social” members won out over the golfing members.
But the lure of golf, predictably, didn’t take long to catch on. He recalls: “One day I went to the golf course and the pro, who was teaching several people, said to me: ‘You’re the president and you don’t even know how to hit a ball with a golf club’. I told him I was more used to big balls, like basketballs, not trying to hit a little ball into a little hole. So he said, ‘Try it and see if you can hit it.’ And, instead of hitting the ball, I hit the sand. That’s how I got started in golf.”
In the following years Libya experienced major upheavals under the Qaddafi dictatorship. “He was a guy who didn’t believe in sports. The land on which the golf course was nestled was distributed to military officers to build their houses there.”
Abdullah Saudi retired from banking in 1995 and, along with a group of friends, became one of the investors who bought Santa Maria Golf & Country Club. “I found it particularly interesting and for me it was something different. I’m a banker by profession. I was always sitting on the other side of the table, not borrowing money. I used to lend money (laughs).”
-What were those early days like?
-It was not an easy period: there were many ups and downs. It was a difficult time, especially here in real estate and golf. It really only got better when the boom came in 1998. When the current owners arrived there were only nine holes and in 1995-1996 they started to build the second nine. The clubhouse was the original owner’s house for the whole area, and we are delighted to maintain it because it has great character, and is completely different to other more modern clubs.
I should point out that we bought the land for real estate development rather than the golf course. We saw the golf course as a complement to the project, for those people who lived in this area. The golf course would never really have been worthwhile for investors, but was needed to be added as a complementary amenity for people residing here, along with other features and facilities (Santa Maria also has a swimming pool, bowling alley, tennis and paddle tennis courts). Those buyers of a home had the priority option of joining the golf club, and were given a discount compared to non-residents. At that time there were no houses around here, and this was the first real estate project. Since then, we have been mainly selling land rather than developing it, leaving the construction projects to others.
After Santa María Golf, five other golf courses were built in Marbella, as well as many others along the Costa del Sol. What effect did or has this increased ‘competition’ had on your club ?
-It has been a very difficult period for us. We have had good times and difficult times. We’re not afraid of the competition because it’s really an advantage for an area like this to become a leading golf destination. It means you have a lot of people coming to play golf. And only those that offer the highest level of service are going to survive and continue.
-What are Santa Maria’s main contributions to golf on the Costa del Sol? What are its strengths?
-We believe our course is one of the best on the Costa del Sol, as it offers everything golfers need to enjoy their round. Here we maintain the traditions of golf, and I am proud to say that we have the best team of professionals to provide excellent service: are very friendly and know how to treat each person properly. And we also have one of the best maintained courses on the Coast and a wonderful environment. From the top of the course there are fantastic views over the Mediterranean.
-How many members does the club have and where do they come from?
-In 2001 we had 550, but today there are only 170. This decline has been partly offset by visiting, pay-and-play golfers. A significant proportion of the membership, 85 percent, is British, and then there are Germans, Norwegians and Danes. Members pay an annual fee and can play unlimited golf – some play up to 200 times a year!
-What have been the main reasons for this decline in membership?
-First of all, the changing economy, and the increase in the number of fields in this part of Spain. The cost of maintenance is very, very high: turf, staff, water and everything else. In purely commercial terms, it’s not profitable. But we are happy to continue to support the golf club and maintain its quality for the real estate sector and the residents. I am proud that we have always maintained a high level of service. If I ever saw that we weren’t doing that, I would close the course. But that’s not going to happen, of course!
-How do official authorities fit into this equation?
One sometimes finds that governments, instead of helping us, raise taxes. Just a few years ago they increased the VAT on golf courses from 11 percent to 21 percent. When a golfer comes here and, instead of finding himself playing for a certain amount, you tell him it’s 21 percent more, that’s a lot of money. The authorities claim they want to encourage golf, but their deeds and actions don’t always help. We emphasize that golf is a sporting activity, not a commercial enterprise. We would like them to recognize that the course is not for us a commercial activity, but a complementary one, something necessary for the benefit of the whole real estate project.
The authorities are not consistent, especially when it comes to planning and development, and this bothers investors because they don’t know what to do. Urban plans are made and then a new mayor or a new government comes in and cancels them and prepares a new plan.
-Marbella is one of the most renowned golf destinations in Europe, and the jewel in the crown of Spanish golf; in fact, the municipality with the largest number of courses in Spain. How have you observed its evolution over the last 25 years? How has it improved and what have been some of the disadvantages?
-The infrastructure has improved considerably, especially the main road, and there are also more visitors and residents with higher purchasing power, which is good for golf. On the negative side, the bureaucratic problems I mentioned earlier.
-What about the future?
-The crisis is not over yet, especially in the financial sector. The banks are still suffering because they have financed many of the projects and have not recovered all their money. This will take some time. Of course, it does not affect only Spain, as most of Europe has been going through difficult times. If you compare at the moment, Spain is doing better than Greece, Italy and other countries, but some of the old mistakes still need to be corrected.
The Costa del Sol has had a significant increase in tourists this summer, but not so much in golfers, as most visitors come for the beach or sightseeing. The peak golf season starts now in the fall, so I think we will see some improvement. If the euro becomes weaker, maybe more nouveau riche will come here to play golf.
-And specifically for Santa Maria? Over the next five years, for example, in the run-up to the club’s 30th anniversary?
-Certainly maintain the quality and hope that things will improve. I think improvement will come, maybe for future generations, if not for us. There will be continued growth, no one can stop that, but the question is how it will affect golf.
-Several years ago the City Council revoked its initial approval of nine additional holes for Santa Maria (27 in total) and a driving range. Will you try to recover that project?
-If the land there is rezoned, yes, we will do it. It is part of our plan. We already spent three million euros to build a road there, and then we were told that we were killing insects and that they wanted to protect them.
-Apart from golf, do you have more land available for real estate development?
-The entire Santa Maria project covers 500 hectares, of which 250 are classified as rustic land. Unless there is a boom and the City Council believes that more land is needed for real estate development, it is likely that they will leave it classified as rustic land. But perhaps there will come a time in the future when they will authorize a portion for real estate development, 20 percent, for example.
-Finally, how is your golf going?
-These days a shoulder tendon injury is keeping me from playing, and I’m getting old too (laughs)! But I’m still fully committed to my President’s Trophy, which celebrated its 10th year in September along with the club’s 25th anniversary dinner for members and their families.
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